Posted by
Tim Blessing on Saturday, February 16, 2008 6:47:03 PM
In 1947, if you made $ 100 a week then you paid roughl $ 3 in taxes.
In 1997, if you worked the same job with a paycheck based on inflation your pay would be $ 600 and your taxes would be $300 a week.
In essence, if you combine all forms of taxation then your effective rate would be 50%.
The majority of the money in this country is found in the middle class.
You have to find a way to raise revenue without burdening the middle class with more taxation.
Most poor people only pay indirect taxes, but are hurt just as much.
Rich people do not have all of the money, but they get the most relief from taxation.
The 1920s saw tax reform.
The 1960s saw tax reform.
The 1980s saw tax reform on 2 separate occasions.
The 1990s saw the tax issue monkeyed with on 2 separate occasions.
The 2000s have seen tax reform on 2 occasions.
Taxes are felt by almost everybody, but no one can figure out how to get the most revenue with the least pain.
There are several options: The Flat Tax, Tax Simplification, Reducing Marginal Rates, instituting more tax breaks, and a combination of approaches.
The one that would generate the most revenue would be the Flat Tax and it is the most honest. It would hurt poor people and it has political implications.
Reducing Marginal Rates affect's the rich the most and help's everybody else the least.
More tax breaks appeal's to Congress and the Special Interests, but they seem to have no real world value.
A Combination Approach would probably survive the legislative process most easily.
Tax Simplification with 3 Rates and a fewer tax breaks serve's everyone's interest.
I would prefer a flat tax or fair tax, but the fairness issue would drive Republicans into their bunkers.
Democrats have their own vulnerabilities on taxes. Big Taxers, Big Spenders, and are weak on defense.
Each Party has an image to maintain, but the governments at the various levels from city, county, state, and federal need to simplify their tax structures.
Again and finally, the money in the economy is found in peoples income. That is what government people determined back in the days of Roosevelt I and Woodrow Wilson.